Editorial

The contents of this issue have been selected from amongst the best papers presented at the 4th European Conference on e‑Government held in Dublin in June 2004. As specialist conferences go, this was a large event with over 100 papers and authors from over 30 countries. Many more submissions had to be turned away for lack of room in the timetable.

As conference chair, I only managed to make it to a small number of sessions, but everything I heard was of a high standard – not something I can say of every conference paper I have sat through in my time! Choosing the papers to appear in the Journal was not easy and all the papers worthy of publication will not fit in one issue. We will therefore be publishing further papers from the conference in future editions including a future issue which will contain a selection of country specific contributions.

The first of the papers in this edition, by John Borras, is on the vexed question of standards in e‑government. I am old enough to remember the early days of open systems where there were as many proprietary operating systems as there were brands of motor car. Today the benefits of open systems are taken for granted. We need to tread the same path in public administration and government. There is wealth of useful information in this paper which anybody working in these fields should read and note.

Tom Butler et al’s paper is a rich contribution at several levels. It not only brings together the two fields of knowledge management and government/administration, but does so in the context of an action research project. Good action research can be hard to find and this is a rare example of how to do it properly. The Portable Knowledge Asset Development System (pKADS) is a downloadable tool built around the concept of knowledge assets. This paper described both a neat piece of research as well as a useful addition to the open source software family.

Toni Carbo and James Williams explore the problems of measuring the performance of digital government. The authors look underneath the surface of e‑Government metrics to the complexities of measuring real impact and achievement including complex questions not just of measurement itself, but of ethical and political issues. This paper is unusual in that much of it describes a project that is about to start, nonetheless what makes it of interest is the contextualisation of this project. In laying out their stall, Carbo and Williams raise issues that need more discussion than they have received up to now.

Jyoti Choudrie et al look at performance metric from a different perspective. Rather than being just another web site evaluation, this uses at tool called WebXact to look at problems with system accessibility – particularly for users with a disability. The authors chose a number of government portals from amongst those assessed as world leaders (Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland and Australia) to investigate and the results are informative. Many of the sites had problems and the research suggests that governments at the leading edge have some distance to travel to get some of the basics right. What then, might one infer about the lower ranked?

The somewhat unfashionable subject of methodologies is the topic of Lee Eddowes contribution. While there has been a battle between the hard and soft schools for many years, methodologies have come under particular attack in recent years, Claudio Ciborra is one of their most vociferous critics. Nonetheless, they are still popular although some of the older approaches such as SSADM and Prince 2 are arguably not that effective for development of e‑Government projects. Eddowes examines a number of more recent developments using several examples and concludes that some of the problems with e‑Government are not about failures of methodologies or tools, but are more due to a lack of clarity of direction in government thinking.

Andy Ellis looks at e‑Government through the lens of new institution economics (NIE). NIE is about the relationship between the firm and the market and incorporates concepts from transaction economics, agency theory and other fields. Ellis presents an integrative model which he applies to two areas of government – education and bidding for e‑Government contracts. The study of the economics of e‑Government is in its embryonic stage and this paper is a useful contribution which challenges the reader to think about issues from a novel perspective.

Paul Foley examines a problem that has become an important political and social question as e‑Government spreads, the problem of social exclusion. This is an example of what might be called good, solid, old fashioned research, i.e. getting out and talking to the excluded as opposed to sitting at one’s desk and counting broadband connections and web hits. The study is rich in interesting findings about how the disadvantaged actually use technology when it is made available to them. The findings are illuminating.

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the work currently being undertaken at an international level by the OASIS e‑Government Technical Committee on developing ICT standards for interoperability to support the work of putting government services on‑line. The work of the committee is on‑going and this paper provides a snapshot of current progress as at the date of this paper and assumes a certain level of awareness on the part of the reader of the new set of Internet technologies.

Abstract

This paper reports on the development of an innovative Open Source Software solution called the Portable Knowledge Asset Development System (pKADS). pKADS is a desktop‑based knowledge management system whose purpose is to promote knowledge sharing in government and non‑government organisations, which the United Nations views a being pivotal to the inclusion of developing nations in the knowledge society. The institutional context for the development of this system is delineated, as are the system's conceptual and technical architectures. The paper concludes with suggestions for the application of pKADS and its implications in shaping subsequent e‑Government initiatives.

Abstract

We do not yet have good measures for Digital Government or agreement on what we should be measuring. We also lack a common understanding of models of the processes used to plan, fund, develop, implement, operate, and evaluate systems in different contexts. This paper reviews the processes of government and examines examples of models and metrics appropriate for different contexts for systems to be successful and describes a proposed research project to examine local digital government services in Pennsylvania and develop replicable models and measures for evaluation of systems and services.

Abstract

Several governments across the world have embraced the digital revolution and continue to take advantage of the information and communication facilities offered by the Internet to offer public services. Conversely, citizens' awareness and expectations of Internet based online‑public‑services have also increased in recent times. Although the numbers of the different national e‑Government web portals have increased rapidly in the last three years, the success of these portals will largely depend on their accessibility, quality and privacy. This paper reports the results of an evaluative study of a cross‑ section of e‑Government portals from these three perspectives, using a common set of performance metrics and Web diagnostic engines. Results show that not only are there wide variations in the spectrum of information and services provided by these portals, but that significant work still needs to be undertaken in order to make the portals examples of 'best practice' e‑Government services.

Abstract

This paper contributes to critical discussion on the contribution of methodologies in implementing e‑Government programmes. The paper takes into account institutional, technological and organisational factors within the public sector and how the concept and practicality of methodologies are being applied. The paper explores the experiences of e‑Government specific methodologies, and in drawing on the work of Wastell, Newman and Kawalek (2002) to illustrate perceptions of e‑Government by implementing agencies.

Abstract

e‑Government puts demands on government organisations which may require new management frameworks. This paper presents interim findings from a doctoral research study exploring how a framework based on the New Institutional Economics leads to greater understanding and new insights. This paper, which outlines the theory and shows how it has been applied as a practical business tool in an e‑government context, updates the paper presented at the 2004 European Conference on e‑Government.

Abstract

This paper describes one of the first studies to investigate the take‑up and impact of ICT amongst socially excluded groups. 130 people took part in 20 focus group discussions. The study: Investigated the factors that influence the adoption and use of the Internet by socially excluded groups; Identified tangible economic and social benefits arising from having access and making use of the Internet; Recommends policies and future action concerning the targeting of resources and the design and likely success of current interventions to promote Internet use. The study shows that some clear and quantifiable benefits can arise from Internet access by socially excluded groups. If the level of use of online information is used as a surrogate for beneficial impact amongst socially excluded groups it is apparent that the Internet is not just providing wider opportunities; these opportunities are actively being seized by socially excluded groups.